AGM Minutes 2018

RENFREWSHIRE BOWLING ASSOCIATION

MINUTES OF THE 140TH ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

WELLMEADOW BOWLING CLUB – WEDNESDAY 7th FEBRUARY 2018

OPENING REMARKS

President Peter Guthrie welcomes all who have taken the time to come along; he then thanked the member clubs for allowing him the opportunity to be the President for the last year. President Peter then asked for a minute’s silence in memory of all who have passed away during the season including Assistant Secretary Joe Wilson and county player Jim Cameron.

APOLOGIES

Apologies were received on behalf of Hon. Presidents J. Bell, and J. McMaster, Directors David Todd and John Fleming (snr) The following clubs also tendered their apologies: J.G. Fleming, Thornliebank, Weirs Rec. and Gourock

ROLL CALL

There were 41 clubs in attendance.

MINUTES

The minutes of the AGM held in 2017 were handed out and had been read. The minutes were adopted by Spateston B.C. and seconded by Barrhead B.C.

ANY MATTERS ARISING

There were no matters arising

SECRETARYS REPORT

Season 2017 began as all others before it, with the Annual General Meeting, which was followed by the annual friendly between Renfrewshire and Dunbartonshire, which was played at Inverclyde Indoor. This resulted in a win for the Renfrewshire Bowling Association.

The first piece of business is preparing the county teams for another tilt at the Andrew Hamilton Trophy. Again the emphasis was put on youth a large number of the players coming from the under 25 team.

The West team won 3 games out of 7 and failed to qualify for the latter stages of the competition, which was a disappointment after their good run the previous year.

The South team won 2 out of the 7 games in their section and finished in 6th place.

As was mentioned in last years minutes Bowls Scotland had proposed a change to the current format to 4 divisions which would be played over a period of 8 weeks so less demand on players commitment, which would then culminate in all the finals being played off at Northfield. During the course of the season a vote was taken from all County Associations, which resulted in the Associations agreeing to the change in format. However since then Bowls Scotland has co-opted a new competitions Director who has decided to keep the original format in place for season 2018.

The Under 25’s who over the last year have seen a number of players move on due to their age now seem to have settled team unfortunately missed out on any honours in 2017.

On another bright note three players from the Under 25 team were selected for the Scotland U25 team, so congratulations to John Fleming Jnr (Port Glasgow), Stephen Lowry (Pollokshaws) and Gavin McLauchlan (Anchor).

The under 25’s concluded their season with another successful trip to Newcastle.

So to end the County team input I would like to say a thank you to David Todd and Ian Brown for their running of the Under 25’s in 2017.

Personally I would also like to thank all the clubs that held County games and Under25 games during the season, I am aware of the work that is involved in hosting these games and the Association would like to thank you all for your support in hosting the games.

County Cup

36 teams entered this year with 1 club failing to turn up on the day. The winners of the County Cup in 2017 were Elderslie Wallace Bowling Club who were 29 up which I believe is the lowest total that the cup has ever been won by.

The highest up rink for the Hall Salver also went to Elderslie Wallace B.C.

Centenary Cup

30 teams entered this competition the winners were Ferguslie B.C. at plus 31

Top Ten

Winners for the Mr and Mrs J Bell Trophy were Hawkhead B.C. who defeated Paisley Victoria B.C. in the final at Rankin Park B. C.

This is the first time Hawkhead B.C. have won the trophy and will now represent Renfrewshire Bowling Association in the Inter County Top Ten.

Whilst we are on the subject of the Inter county Top Ten, congratulations go to Wellington Park Bowling Club, Renfrewshire’s representatives in the Inter County Cup in 2017 who reached the semi finals, which were played at Eddlewood B.C.

Over the past few years Renfrewshire have had some success in the Inter County Top Ten and hopefully Hawkhead will carry that on in this year’s competition.

Inter County Cup

Dumbartonshire Bowling Association won the trophy this year by 3 shots, with the highest up Renfrewshire rink being from J. G. Fleming B.C.

Championships Results

The Championships are the highlight of the season for a lot of people. May and June are busy months for the cream of our bowlers and it all culminates at the end of June in our Finals day.

The finals were held at Elderslie Wallace bowling club. There were 12 different clubs represented in the finals this year.

Well done to all the clubs who played in the finals and also to all of the clubs who gave up their greens and supplied us with facilities, markers and umpires throughout the season?

Also a special mention and thanks to Bob Morrow who organises all the umpires for the semi finals and finals and for all the Championship games and AHT games and a big thank you to all the umpires who give up their own time to carry out these duties.

CHAMPIONSHIP RESULTS

SINGLES(Sir Hugh Shaw Stewart Trophy)G. Wiggins (Elderslie Wallace)

RUNNER-UPN. House (Fort Matilda B.C.)

Regarding the singles Championship, this is only the third in the history of the tournament that a player has retained the trophy following in the footsteps of Peter Clark (Wellington Park) and Robert Moles (Titwood)

JUN SINGLESR. Hamilton (Charleston)

J. Crawford (Wellington Park)

PAIRS(Daily Record Trophy)Port Glasgow B.C

R/UPBlacklandmill B.C.

TRIPLES(Dr. D. Turner Trophy)Thornliebank

R/UPGourock B.C.

FOURS(Paisley & Renfrew Gaz Trophy)Caledonia

R/UPGourock Park

SENIOR FOURS (Mr J. Millen Trophy)Stamperland

R/UPPort Glasgow

OTHER COMPETITIONS

SPON FOURS(R.Brown & W. Cope Trophy)Pollokshaws

Wellington Park

Under 45’s(Mr A. Cann Trophy)Port Glasgow B.C.

Shanks

On a personal note I would like to thank both Assistant Secretaries David Perrit and the late Joe Wilson for all their help throughout the season. David has done all the draws for all the cups and ties ably assisted by Roger Black whilst Joe took care of the finances and will be a sad loss to the Association and also his club Charleston.

Also to all the Directors for their assistance and help at all the County games.

As this will be last report as secretary of the Association I would also like to thank all the Past Presidents and Directors that I have worked with over the past 5 years and thank them all for their support throughout this time and would like to wish the Association every success in the future.

FINANCE REPORT

The balance sheet was handed out and read by all representatives on their arrival at the meeting. President Peter Guthrie asked if there were any questions regarding the balance sheet, and Director Hugh Balfour would answer these.

There were no questions on the balance sheet.

The balance sheet was proposed by Erskine B.C. and seconded by Charleston B.C.

Auditors Report

Colin Reddy spoke on behalf of the auditors and said that the he had met with the Hugh Balfour and Secretary Alan Moran and all the receipts and accounts were presented very well to us. Colin then thanked Hugh Balfour and Alan Moran for their hard work in preparing the report.

Annual Subscription Rates 2018

Status Quo as set at previous AGM.

Election of Office Bearers

Before demitting office, President Peter Guthrie thanked all the clubs that he had visited during his year as President and thanked them for their warm welcome, kind hospitality and friendship.

He also thanked his own club Elderslie Wallace, President Jim McWilliam and the members for the support given to the Association during their time as hosts of the RBA finals, they delivered a Finals day to remember and also managed to provide the singles Champion of 2017 in the shape of Gary Wiggins and the club also won the county cup.

Lastly he thanked the committee, Honorary and Past presidents for the generosity of their time, assistance, friendship and support during his time in office, it was greatly appreciated and everyone made sure my year as President was a memorable one.

To the retiring secretaries David and Alan, David has contributed a great deal in his time with the Association and we have a competition structure in place that will no doubt be used for many years to come. He has also nurtured a great relationship between the member clubs and Association, which will stand us in good stead in the future.

Secretary Alan, you had a very sharp learning curve and have carried out the duties of Secretary to a very high standard. Anybody who receives an endorsement from Honorary Past President Jim Bell must be doing a good job although I would still like to hear what he really said to you. I appreciate all the time and effort you have put in over the past 5 years. We have had some good laughs along the way and I will miss your company during the Hamilton trophy games.

As many of you will already be aware we were saddened by the news of the passing of out Treasurer Joe Wilson just before Christmas. It was difficult to believe that only 8 weeks after our last committee meeting in October that Joe was no longer with us. Joe was generous with his time, abundant with his knowledge and even though he didn’t speak often, when he did, we listened. From the number of people who attended Joe’s funeral it was clear to see the respect that people had for him, from his own club Charleston and the many bowlers from clubs and Associations throughout the county. Our thoughts remain with his wife Wendy and kids Karen, Kris and Zoe.

President Jim then stated that it gave him great pleasure to accept the nomination for President on behalf of Rankin Park Bowling Club.

Rankin Park have never had a Director or President in our 96 years so we intend to make the most of this very special year. You can be assured of a warm welcome from us as your hosts on Championship Finals day on Sunday 24th June 2018.

My first involvement with the RBA was merely as a spectator when my son Paul was invited for trial with the under 25’s at the young age of 13. That was 15 years ago. I was still a spectator when Paul moved up to play for the South team in 2013 and it was then that I was coaxed to come on to the board from Past President Jim Pollock. I never thought for a moment those journeys with the under 25’s would lead to me being RBA President.

President Jim McElwee then presented outgoing President Peter Guthrie with his Past President badge.

There being no further business, the meeting was brought to a close with a vote of thanks to the chair by President Jim McElwee in the absence of vice president Alex Gemmell who thanked all the representatives and Honorary Presidents for attending and getting the business concluded. He also thanked the auditors for their hard work and time.

To the committee for their hard work throughout the season.

To Wellmeadow B.C. and Past President Bill Brown for hosting the meeting.

President Jim again thanked all the representatives and wished them all a safe journey home.